Today we met with employees of the Global Times, an English language Chinese newspaper, and the International Channel of Shanghai, an English language news television channel. In China, all mass media is state owned, but the nature of the arrangement between the state and the news organization is much more complicated than the typical view from the west. Both of the organizations we visited were profit driven. They were expected to earn a profit (some percentage of which went back to the Chinese government) and fund their own operations, like a normal corporation. I had expected that Chinese media, being state owned, would serve primarily as a mouthpiece for the Chinese government. However, both of the organizations we visited appeared to be similar to western media outlets in that their concern was what the consumer of the news is interested in. Neither organization receives guidelines or was forced to report certain stories for the central government. The major difference is that the government has the authority to have articles pulled if they cover certain sensitive topics. This seems like a major restriction on the effectiveness of the news, but technological trends counteract government censorship. The rise of microblogging websites (like Twitter in the United States) has made it harder for the government to control the spread of information. This has allowed traditional Chinese media outlets more freedom in the content they are able to cover, especially as their role is often to provide facts and dispel rumors. Interestingly, both organizations stressed social responsibility as a part of their mission. In the era of the 24 hour news cycle, I’m left wondering if the profit centered focus of the news organization is any less limiting than government censorship and control of the media.
Posts Tagged ‘China’
State Owned Media
March 4th, 2014 by efd1Day 4: Journalism – Practice, Process and Implications
March 3rd, 2014 by TinaHere are some of the thoughts and questions in my mind today after listening to an urban planner/professor and expert on Chinese sustainability speak, and talking to Professors Chen and Fang:
– If journalists expect to be objective in their reporting, they must be objective with the questions they ask their sources.
– Thus, with the above reasoning, journalists should not enter an interview with a hidden agenda.
– Journalists should keep in mind who/what their source is representing at that point in time. The expert on sustainability works with the government and has dealt with media before; of course she is not going to say anything against those things.
– But, if it’s an interview – or digging through evidence – to find out “x” factor that is not transparent, then does it become necessary to adopt an “agenda”, if obtaining that information becomes the mission?
– But is the very act of finding any information on its own an agenda?
– If a non-profit organization, company, etc. pretty much writes their own articles for the media, then that’s not journalism – that’s public relations.
– Public relations isn’t the sister of journalism – journalism has no boundaries on information reporting (other than when seeking to minimize harm, per the second entry on the SPJ Code of Ethics, which is to minimize harm… but I might delve into that later)… but public relations does. Journalism, in theory (not necessarily in practice), goes one step further than public relations.
One of the things the expert on Chinese sustainability mentioned was that China’s news covers the concept of “green” more than people can imagine, in a higher and better capacity than the United States covers it. The expert used an example of something he/she had heard on a morning radio show in the United States, which was someone stating that the source of climate change is the sun, and that you wouldn’t hear such an unintelligent statement in the Chinese press.
– To quote Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
– Based on the expert’s statement about what the climate denier said… does the notion of a “free press” (“free” meaning no third party stands between the journalist and the source and limits what can or cannot be said) mean the slowing down of progress in areas such as environmental issues?
In retrospect, the urban developer/professor somewhat answered my question above without even knowing it. He talked about how after the U.S. embassy showed the air quality index (I believe he was referencing Shanghai, and not Beijing), coverage of environmental issues increased in the Chinese media, although even before that, there was lots of coverage on “green,” just not the grassroots side of it (which is what the organization he works for focuses on). The government even gives money to make green buildings happen. Free-flowing information can spark a change, and I think even terribly researched opinions (like those of global warming deniers in the United States), can start movement in the “right” direction (in the case of the environment, towards greener initiatives), because whenever there is a statement, there is also a counterstatement.
A worker with the Shanghai Subway Company gave the second lecture of the day. My interaction with this speaker and others and watching the interactions of the group with this speaker and others has reinforced the importance of clarification in asking questions in journalism. The worker talked about how safety is one of the biggest challenges facing the Shanghai subway system right now. I wasn’t sure exactly what she meant by safety – as safety can encompass many things – so I asked her to define it. She answered that by “safety,” she meant “daily safety” – getting people where they want to go and having drivers who work carefully on a daily basis.
So far, this trip has made me think a lot about the practice, process, and implications of journalism.
*The newspaper pictured above is not related to the speakers or lecture topics. It is merely a newspaper I saw in a coffee shop.
Day 2 – A Glimpse Into Shanghai’s Past
March 3rd, 2014 by mjr8
The second day was probably just as busy as or at least busier than the first. We had an entire day planned ahead us, starting from Yuyuan temple to a public media lecture at Shanghai Library. Speaking of Yuyuan Garden, that place is probably one of the most scenic areas a person could visit in their lifetime. Its history actual history, though, spans all the way to the 16th century with the Ming dynasty. This is a time when the North American colonies were not even established. It is such a weird, yet awe-inspiring feeling to be stepping where Chinese royals once stood and where the British had occupied during the First Opium War. Though I knew of how extensive Chinese culture is, I did not get the full picture until I stepped into ancient sites such as Yuyuan Garden. Most would agree that this is a “touristy” spot, but at the same time, going to cultural sites like Yuyuan is necessary to get an accurate perception of China. Most people think of Mao or Communism, but there is so much more to China. My best advice would be to explore the early beginnings of China and to visit such places while in China; you will begin to appreciate history much more.
At this point in the day it was still relatively early so we had much more to uncover about the wonders of Shanghai. Taking a little “pit stop,” we visited a marketplace nearby where merchants sell all kinds of goods ranging from “designer” glasses to teddy bears. While there are stores such as Gucci, GAP, and other name brands, going to these small marketplaces instills a sense of authenticity in a person’s trip here. Nothing compares to the crowdedness, the pace, or the bargaining that takes place in these markets. Where else could you convince a store owner to lower the price on glasses from 200RMB to possibly 100RMB? Besides a garage sale, I can’t conceive of any place in the United States that has the same characteristics. Going to these tiny street stores is definitely an event that will forever be stored in my mind.
Maybe an hour or so later we decided to go make our way towards the Shanghai library, the place where we had lectures over the history of Shanghai, in addition to the public media in Shanghai. The moment we walked in this place I was again impressed at the cleanliness of such public venues. I feel as if people indeed have a strong work ethic and a sense of pride in their work here. Everywhere I go I see people not toil, but work like their job is a “labour of love.” Now I am not saying that every place is as spotless as the Beijing airport or the Shanghai library, but so far most of these places have impressed me with their overall features. Anyways, we had gotten to the lecture room where both presenters were patiently waiting. Before I describe to you the actual content of the lectures, I must point out the hospitality of many people that we have encountered here on a professional level. Many of these people always look to make their guest comfortable and happy. They never hesitate to offer you tea, water, or anything else. This is very welcoming, which I think contributes to the instant comfort felt between people here.
Now it was time for the lectures. This was most interesting because there were some facts told during the presentation that I was not aware of such as what the First Opium War, the Treaty of Nanking, and the amount of influence that foreigners had in China during the 1800s and very early 1900s. To get a better understanding of the city you are in, I think it is necessary to build at least some sort of basic foundation in which you can see how and why the city developed the way it did. In lieu of this, we learned about the significance of the Bund. This area was a major spot of economic activity because of the nearby Huangpu River acting as an entrance into this area. Even more so, because of the heavy European influence, this area has many French, British, and English buildings stretched across the main street. On a side note, I find it so amazing that a country in Asia has districts that resemble European cities. If you face away from Pudong and the river, looking back into the Nanjing Road, you would probably confuse this place from being Germany or France.
Besides the history of Shanghai, we gathered some knowledge on the role of public media in China. I felt as if this was a very important topic to discuss because many people think of China as being a place where the media is continuously spouting propaganda and slogans. Based off of what was being told by our lecturer who worked at a news station, Chinese media isn’t as restrictive as we see it purported to be back home. It was mentioned that people work generally with freewill, with respect to the boundaries set by the government. To clarify, the government is not actively forcing journalists or news channels to cover what they want. They are not forcing anybody to do anything. The only thing that they do is set a boundary for certain topics, which generally isn’t much. I am guessing this is sort of a way to avoid inciting violence among certain groups of people or to avoid reporting offensive material. I still feel as if it is used as a way to stop people from making defamatory remarks about leaders in China, but then again she did mention that local leaders are always criticized in papers and other media outlets.
This was just the beginning of the week so I knew that we have so much left to explore. It is incredible that this city has endless amounts of attractions ranging from Buddhist temples to luxury stores lining row by row. I just can’t help but notice how quick Chinese society has progressed from a relatively poor country to one that is the holder of the second largest economy in the world. Despite this country being very “Eastern,” I just cannot help but notice how some of the city’s cultural characteristics mirror ours back home in the United States.
March 3, 2014 | Day 3 in Shanghai
March 3rd, 2014 by hb10Today we met with a professor and urban planner. He told our group about the work that he does and helped us better understand Shanghai as a planned, modern city. He showed us his designs from The World Expo, focusing on how they were green-friendly and helped develop Shanghai further aesthetically. Through our conversations, I could not help but wonder about the result of urban planning. Cities are continuing to grow and buildings seem to be being built as fast as others are being torn down. So I asked out guest lecturer about the longevity of his projects, curious about what would happen with these new urban spaces were no longer fresh and new. He responded by telling us that the life span of a building in Shanghai is roughly eighty years, and that Chinese tradition usually just relied on tearing wooden structures down so that they could be replaced with new ones. He said that for a long time, the Chinese thought of homes the same way they thought of clothes, they are something to use temporarily and replace as needed. The effects of this process includes and over-use of resources, damaging the environment. So we learned that although the trend is to build and re-build, Shanghai is headed in a direction that allows for building to withstand the test of time while also being sustainable.
Day 3 Reflection – Melissa
March 3rd, 2014 by mrv3There are two main takeaways from today’s experiences in Shanghai, and they are related to each other. The first is that going to certain parts of Shanghai feels like stepping into the future. The second is that urban planning is much more complex and insane and thorough than I assumed it would be.
This morning, we visited the Lujiazui area of Shanghai. It is the fancy financial district with lots of banking and financial towers, the location of three of the tallest towers in China (including the new Shanghai Tower, which is fabulous and also terrifying!). We went to the observation deck at the top of the Shanghai World Financial Center, which was impressive but unfortunately not as exciting as I expected it to be, mostly because there was a glare on the windows and the “glass floor” was very disappointing. However, the morning was incredible simply because the walk around Lujiazui actually felt like strolling in a futuristic city – the roads are wide but cars are sparse, there are clean and wide pedestrian bridges throughout the entire area, the skyscrapers are numerous and sleek and shiny, and the people are all dressed in fancy business outfits. It honestly felt like walking around in a movie set in the future.
Our lecture in the afternoon was a perfect compliment to the time-travel-like experience in Lujiazui. We took a trip to Tongji University’s graduate campus, where we were given a lecture on urban planning inside the super-posh IKEA-esque modern and colorful Sino-Finnish center. Urban planning is a subject in which I have absolutely no background, but I found the lecture fascinating. The professor gave an enthusiastic and lengthy talk on general Shanghai urban planning and more specifically on his experience planning the 2010 World Expo (which I attended! It was really amazing). Although I didn’t understand the more abstract urban planning concepts and technical economic jargon in his presentation, it was interesting to learn about the immense amount and diversity of consideration that goes into planning cities. I did not get the chance to ask questions related to my research topic (I wanted to ask about how urban planners accommodate mass amounts of rural-to-urban migration into their plans for housing), but I will send questions later. I was not at all disappointed in the lecture, because it really fit nicely into the morning experience. Having attended the lecture, it now makes much more sense why Lujiazui (and comparable areas in Tokyo, Taipei, Seoul, etc.) feel so futuristic – they’re planned with the future in mind.
Day 3 – Tongji Design Factory
March 3rd, 2014 by efd1One of our lectures today was with a professor/practicing urban planner. We first met him at the restaurant while we were eating lunch, and he quickly gave us a history of the urban form of Shanghai, and an explanation of the political context under which the Shanghai’s reforms were taken in 1993. In particular, he mentioned first the success of Shenzhen as the first area to undergo economic reforms. Afterwards, reforms were undertaken in Hainan which were less successful due to regional economic troubles. What I found especially interesting about this explanation is the way that local governments were used as laboratories to experiment with policies. The professor indicated that the lessons from the failed special economic zone in Hainan were fresh in the minds of urban planners in Shanghai. Oftentimes in the west we associate strongly centralized government as slow to react and clumsy, but this example of urban planning indicates that centralization is not synonymous with poor policy making.
I asked the professor how far in advance he attempts to plan when designing city spaces, and he said the typical number is 20 years. I can’t even imagine an American government implementing a coherent plan for more than four years, much less five times that number!
Day 1 – The Day of No Sleep
March 2nd, 2014 by mjr8
Day one had to be the craziest of them all. Not only did our flight leave at 12 A.M., but we also were scheduled to be in the air for over 15 hours on a direct flight from Houston to Beijing. In addition to that, we had two more hours to go because our destination is actually Shanghai. All in all we flew for around 17 hours. While it doesn’t sound entirely bad try doing it with constant turbulence, getting elbowed every 5 minutes by the person to your left, and do it when it is probably 50 degrees in the passenger section. This was absolute torture due to the fact that I could not sleep. Every time that I would doze off, thinking to myself that finally I can get some rest, we would hit more turbulent weather thus waking we up from my much needed slumber. At this point I was just anxious to get off and at least move around.
Watching the flight path and destination timer was probably the most reassuring aspect of it all because as the timer went from 15 to 10 to 5 to finally 1 hours till arrival, it finally hit me. We are going to China, a place that is halfway across the world and where most people have never been to. Despite the uncomfortable flight, I feel extremely grateful that I am able to participate in such a class that takes students overseas to do some field study work. During the last hour all this sense of joy and excitement started to pour in as I saw lights of Chinese cities below us, some 30,000 feet below. Before I knew it we touched down and taxied our way to our terminal.
Stepping out on Chinese land was such a great feeling. I would have to say though, when we finally got to the main part of the airport I was impressed with the infrastructure. Truthfully, I was somewhat jealous because back in the U.S. our infrastructure is degrading, we have old airports, and we just don’t do anything about it. Even more impressive, the place was extremely clean. I swear I could not find trash anywhere on the ground. At this point most of my stereotypes of China has faded away, no longer being influenced by others as I get to see everything for MYSELF. I would admit that I came here a little bit skeptical, but overall I would say that is no longer the case. I now see that China is a great country with some problems, just like the U.S. or any other Western country.
Despite this, our journey was far from over. We still needed to make a connecting flight to Shanghai’s Pudong airport. This actually wasn’t so bad though because it would only last about 2 hours. So before we knew it we had landed and reached our final destination, yay! The journey was far from over though, due to the fact that we still needed to take a train and taxi to Jiao Tong University. The train that we took is called the Maglev. Little did I know this is actually the fastest passenger train in the world, traveling at speeds of up to 268 mph. To our disappointment we only traveled 300 km/h to our destination, but it is still much faster than anything in Houston that I know! The envy has just grown stronger and stronger at this point. Hey, United States government, you could learn some things from China as much as you probably deny it. Anyways…this train was extremely quick and smooth. It literally took us a few minutes to get to our stop. As soon as we get out and head down to the street level chaos ensued. There were maybe 10 different taxi drivers walking around and asking us if we needed a taxi, probably because we all had cameras, looked like tourists, and looked pretty clueless. Luckily we were accompanied by two Chinese professors so they knew exactly what to do. Finally, we found a competent driver who had agreed to take me, Evan, and CJ to Jiao Tung. I must say this before hand, though, taxi drivers in China are insanely bold. Our driver and another driver almost got into a fight just because our driver waited a minute or two to leave. I thought to myself, “this would never happen in the states,” but then again this isn’t the states. It is a different country with a different culture so I tried my best to understand why these things happen here in China.
As we drove along and got onto one of their highways I couldn’t help but notice that some of these people had very expensive cars. I had seen Porsche, BMWs, and Mercedes Benzs. Everytime you see China on the news or in foreign media it always portrays their citizens driving cars from the 1980s. This was definitely a huge surprise to me nonetheless. What was also a surprise was the pace at which the drivers drove. I swear that they have no regard for traffic signals, rules, or other drivers. We zoomed down the highway and roads at a slightly scary rate, avoiding a few potential collisions and accidents. Some 20 minutes later we finally arrived at Jiao Tung University! To our relief we only had one lecture that day so there was plenty time for rest and sight-seeing. Talking about sight seeing, that following night we traveled on the subway to go to the Bund. If you don’t know what that is, it is one of the most famous places in China and in the East. There are building styles that resemble Europe and Asia all conglomerated next to each other, making it a very unique place unlike many others. This had to have been the height of the day. I have seen many pictures of the Bund and the famous Shanghai skyline, but to actually be able to see it personally is amazing.
After we were done looking around at the many marvels the city has to offer we headed down Nanjing Road which happens to be one of the busiest shopping areas around. There were thousands upon thousands of people strolling down the streets. It was a little overwhelming, but I had gotten used to it, after all, being in a city of 20 million you have to. Ironically we avoided all the shopping and went straight to where the food was at. We had stopped at some little restaurant that professor Fung suggested because of their tasty, steamed dumplings. I had only tried one, but that one was enough for me to know that they are, in fact, good at making dumplings. The time was maybe 8 o’clock local time when we finished , which would be 14 hours ahead of Houston. Due to this, we all were pretty jet lagged and were ready to call it a night. Shortly after dinner we took a taxi back to Jiao Tung University and slept like we never slept before.
Day 3 – Yuyuan and City Temple, Shanghai Library, Shanghai Documentary Channel, and Tianzifang – Tina
March 2nd, 2014 by TinaI felt good and ready to go today! After breakfast at the hotel, we visited Yuyuan, a gorgeous garden for the royal family during the Ming Dynasty.
Then, we went to the City Temple. It was interesting seeing so many people praying there. I guess I wasn’t expecting the Chinese people to be that religious before I came to China, for one reason or another.
Next, we had lunch at the oldest Vegetarian restaurant in Shanghai. Everything was really good, and as Evan mentioned, the vegetable “beef” tasted a lot like real beef.
After that, we went to the Shanghai Public Library and listened to the librarian; give a lecture titled “Shanghai in the Past Century.” She divided her talk into three sections – “Ancient Shanghai: A Traditional Town in the South of China,” “Modern Shanghai: A Treaty Port City,” and “Contemporary Shanghai: An International Metropolis.” Some interesting tidbits I learned about modern Shanghai (the librarian showed us a wonderful, witty video during her lecture):
– It is the 8th largest city in the world
– It has been described as the “Paris of the East”
– While it is the largest Chinese city, it has the lowest fertility rate in the nation
– Shanghai is sinking at a rate of 1.5 centimeters per year… yikes
– Shanghai is the birthplace of Chinese theater
– Shanghai consumes the most sugar out of all the other places in China
– Shanghai’s Marriage Market – Google it
Next, we listened to someone from the Shanghai Documentary Channel. She showed us a portion of a documentary she had directed about Ürümqi, China, the place furthest away from an ocean in on the entire Earth. During her talk and the Q&A afterwards, I learned some interesting things about TV media in China:
– The Chinese government owns TV stations, although the state is not responsible for the TV station profiting
– Virtually no TV stations are privately owned in China
– Each channel has a different team working on the corporate content
– Not all documentaries are for governmental interests (the word used during the Q&A was “propaganda”)
– Someone looks over the final product (documentary, in this case), but not for checking that a certain message has been sent to the public
– Nowadays, the government outlines boundaries as to what TV media can’t do, as opposed to saying they need to do “x,y, or z”
– People in the industry feel that the process of journalism/TV are moving more towards an open avenue
– According to her, air pollution is not a very prohibited subject, as long as the government does not get the blame for the environmental issues
These points have painted a better picture of so-called press freedom in China than I expected going in, but I still raise my eyebrow at the Chinese government 1. owning all TV stations, and 2. outlining boundaries. This is, even if on minimally invasive level as her implied today, still press censorship. A free media is not obligated to answer to any third party but the public.
One of the most interesting things I learned from her was that when deciding on a topic to make a documentary out of, the documentary team will ask a range of half a pool of experts from various fields for suggestions. One thing Professor Fang mentioned is that even if experts propose things with no apparent third party hovering over them, they probably self-censor. Which brings me to…
At the end of the day, don’t all journalists self-censor? George Orwell put it interestingly – “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.” Writing for the campus newspaper, I don’t come across many stories that warrant me getting information someone else would “not want printed,” as people aren’t generally defensive about the location and details of the upcoming homecoming dance or sexual assault information talks at orientation week. But, I would imagine that covering more controversial stories would require a degree of self-censorship for the sake of getting at least some information to the public – for instance, if I were covering a new famous upcoming product, I would be able to find out details about its release and basic functions, but probably not its name, if the company was waiting for a big reveal. Therefore, the increase my chances of getting the former information, I would either wait until the end to ask about the name, or not ask out all, after feeling out the situation and determining where everyone stands.
On a more obvious level, journalists self-censor all the time because journalistic writing – pure, ethical, journalistic writing – is supposed to be objective. Being unbiased requires self-censorship; it requires holding back your own thoughts and opinions on the subject matter at hand.
Afterwards, we went shopping and sightseeing at Tianzifang, and we had Taiwanese food at a nice little restaurant in the area.
Day 2 – Arrival, Education Lecture, and The Bund – Tina
March 2nd, 2014 by TinaMy first day in Shanghai was wonderful, but also tiring. We arrived at Pu Dong airport around 10:15 in the morning on Saturday (CST) and checked in at our hotel. Then, we had lunch and listened to a teacher from Shanghai Middle School and someone from the Municipal Education Commission. The points they covered were interesting, such as there being two types of public schools in Shanghai (the first being governed by Shanghai’s municipal government, and the second being governed by Shanghai’s districts), that private schools are considered better for junior high but not for high school, for which public schools are considered better, and that parents pay sky-high private tutoring fees for their children. Interestingly, I learned that high school campus newspaper cannot really criticize the administration, which is true for high school campus newspaper in the United States too, for the most part.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling well and had to excuse myself 20 minutes or so before the lecture ended. I ended up not visiting The Bund – and consequently missed the seeing the beautiful Shanghai skyline – with the group because I basically crawled into bed and collapsed, but I’m visiting on Saturday (our free day) with one of the other group members. I’m super excited about visiting! Everyone said it was amazing, and I can’t wait to go.
On the flight to Beijing, Professor Chen handed me a newspaper (China Daily) with two or three articles on air pollution in it. International flights typically have a free portable stand filled with newspapers before entering the physical plane (in the passageway), with its nation’s major newspapers. My project is on how journalists in Shanghai cover air pollution, and the fact that a major Chinese newspaper had a few articles on air pollution, and that said newspaper was being offered freely in such a public and international setting, was the first clue on the trip that journalists are able to report on air-pollution, and that China is not explicitly attempting to hide anything in regards to air pollution.
Day 2 Reflection – Melissa
March 2nd, 2014 by mrv3Today was a day of shopping, walking, and LOTS of picture-taking. Oh, and food, of course. We started off the morning with a beautiful walk through the Yuyuan Garden – it was actually perfect, because the weather was cool and clear and sunny, and it was not very crowded within the Garden itself. We got split into two groups because my group wanted to take 5000 pictures at every spot (definitely worth it – we got so many fantastic photos out of the experience), and I think we spent more time at the Garden than we originally planned…but, like I said, completely worthwhile. I went to the Yuyuan Garden last time I came to Shanghai, but this time around it was much more fun because the weather was too hot last time and there were too many other tourists. After the Garden, we ate a delicious lunch of vegetarian cuisine and then walked around and shopped at the nearby market before heading over to the Shanghai Library for a lecture on Shanghai history and documentaries. I really enjoyed the portion about documentaries, because I had previously never really thought about the time, work, and planning that goes into making documentaries. It seems like a wonderful thing to be a part of – but also lots of stress. We concluded the day with what should have been my favorite part (jetlag killed a bit of my fun today, so I was quite tired by the end), Tianzifang. This area is absolutely perfect – Wikipedia describes it as an “arts and crafts enclave,” and I agree with this assessment, but it’s so much more. There were stores selling arts and crafts, yes, but there were also themed restaurants, mini bars protruding into the narrow alleyways, fantastic and funny original t-shirt designs, teahouses with enticing aromas – I could go on and on, but it was fabulous. I definitely plan on going back sometime! But now it is time to sleep. Peace.